which is better? Firefox or IE?

I always use IE but I design for W3C compliant browsers and fix sites up with ie hacks afterwards. Microsoft do my head in by refusing to follow W3c Specs. It just makes developers life so much harder lol.

For browsing tho have to say I always use IE. I am well aware of the security risks and I turn them to the wind. Every browser has security risks, altough IE is a little different in that it is built into the core shell of windows.

I like Firefox with the web developer extension/toolbar, enables you to validate html, css online and offline, turn css on and off, outline block level elements, tables, turn everything on and off, zoom in and out, small screen rendering ... also the colour picker is great.
I went from IE to Opera, but Firefox is for me

Firefox definitely... but we need to support IE in terms of making a site, since the population of IE users is still significant...

Personally, I prefer Firefox. It just seems to render websites more accurately than IE, plus it has some great extensions. I use IEView all the time to double check sites I design in IE, and I use the webmaster toolbar a lot.

It depends where I am... at work I use Firefox, but I'm a Mac geek and the Mac version of Firefox is a bit off so I mostly just use Safari.

Between Firefox or IE, currently Firefox. I don't love Firefox though, I find the interface to be less than intuitive, I hate the default skin, and I prefer having the functionality I need built in rather than as add-ons.

For those reasons, my main browser is Opera. It comes with so many features built in (no downloading extensions), it's standards compliant, and it's got a good user interface (in my opinion!). Here is a thread with some info about what's great about Opera:

http://www.webmaster-forums.net/showthread.php?t=34660&highlight=Opera (scroll down to my second post, and read the one by JeevesBond further down)

I wouldn't say that any browser is "better" than another - it just depends on what you want it to do. If you want's something really basic that works, then IE would be fine. If you want to be able to customize with special functionality, Firefox is good. If you want a lot of features built in, Opera is great (a lot of the stuff that you would need an extension for in Firefox is built in in Opera). You can get add-ons for Opera too, like a web developer toolbar. If you use a mac, Safari is really good etc. etc.

I use Firefox and have for over a year now. I like it a lot better than IE. I did download the IE 7 Beta earlier this year, but it kept crashing on me. I just downloaded the newest beta yesterday, but I haven't played with it yet, so we'll see!

Firefox, but not because they do anything better than IE. They do, but that's not the point. Firefox has built up such a fan base and numbr of people willing to create skins and extensions for it that the support is just so much better. Problem in IE? Go to Microsoft. Problem in Firefox? Go a lot more places and find at least the same level of help.

I was a hardcore IE user until I discovered Firefox. It's so much easier to use and Tabbed Browsing is the best thing for internet browsing since the development of the internet itself

I use both, IE for website and FF for security reasons. FF has more security but when viewing my website in FF it doesn't seem to support some javascripts and colours I have used. I have been eliminating some of my JS so that my website is compatible with both.

Fastest Browser Benchmarks - Twisted Tech TV

Browser vulnerabilities comparison chart

As an advanced user I totally love Opera. It lets me customize everything, and has so many built-in features that I barely wish for extensions You can even add on your own custom toolbars and menus (which allows you to create a web developer toolbar and other such enhancements).

I'm glad cratima noted ease of use for beginners though - I never really thought of Opera as a good browser for beginners to be honest. I thought of it more of a power user's tool.

i prefer firefox due to the extensive plugins that are available, extensions, security and themes. Regular updated, run by people with a passion for the web.

I do use everysingle browser out there though, on both pc and mac to check how things turn out.

Why is Opera for beginners?

You want a definition of an word. How do you do that with IE? Open dictionary.com. With FireFox? Install an extension. With Opera. Right-click. Now that's simple.

How to save all tabs being opened? FF - install tab mix plus. Opera - automatic. IE? Haha. "What's that?" IE asks.

Mouse gestures? Extensions vs. Just enable it. I think IE is hiding when asked this question.

Autofill - 3 different extensions (including the Google toolbar) vs. integrated in Opera. IE has Google Toolbar for that.

There are just a lot of things that a user should serach for and install for itself if it uses FireFox. With Opera they are all there! No install required. A right click, an "Enable" option, a walk through the "Preferences" will solve most of the issues.

Sure, there are some things (mostly weird) that Opera can't do. For that is FireFox. But for the ease of use (and these are the beginners!) - go Opera. Right-click and you're done!

Thanks for pointing that out Cratima! I couldn't have put it better myself. Also Opera runs on everything, on phones, PDAs, Windows, am using under Linux to type this, Mac etc.

Anyway, Firefox Vs. IE is a bit of a daft question. IE hasn't been updated for five years, now MS are updating it they're only doing it because they've been forced to. The updates they have done are basic CSS (that should have worked correctly in the first place), and have stolen some ideas from all the other browsers.

Firefox is certainly better in almost every respect to IE. Unfortunately MS have an unfair and illegal (proven by the US DOJ) advantage from bundling their product with Windows. Let's hope the European Commission destroy their monopoly. George W's regime certainly won't.

The only thing I don't understand is why the EC doesn't stop Microsoft from shipping IE with Windows.

Opera is far the best.I really like the widgets(developing widgets is best thing for webmasters to prove their skills).

I have used firefox for a long time now, mainly as an alternative to IE due to IE's security problems (although I think they have come a long way since the bad days). Its good because you dload the 'bare' software and users can add on their individual plugin/module requirements.

As for security, as firefox becomes more popular and has somewhere near the same amount of users as IE it will become as vulnerable to attacks as IE.

I use Vista at the moment and have to say the new tabbed IE is pretty good (even if copied from our open source friends)

Firefox.

Well, that's my personal preference, anyway.

I prefer FX but it also needs some improvements like one extension should not interfere with workings of other extension and it should not shut after an error without giving any chance to save something ...

definitely FF at the moment, but then we're comparing a 6 year old dinosaur with a newcomer.
FF definitely has a large base of extension developers and is also at the forefront of the open-source movement.

I've been a Firefox convert for a while now. I know that any browser has security loopholes - but I like the number of extensions available for Firefox as it makes it easier for me to block known ads and javascript on sites I'm not familiar with and with one click unblock them either temporarily or permanently. It does mean that anyone using my computer to surf the Internet needs a tutorial session beforehand, but I haven't had a major security issue with Firefox in the couple of years since I started using it. The last time I actually allowed IE to connect to the internet I ended up with my browser hijacked within a few minutes - which was discouraging (especially as it's not like I'm going to porn sites or crack sites - all it took was following one link to a clipart site for it to happen.)

Sorry to be the grumpy old person here but, Opera is not one of the options

I just came across this really funny old thread: IE or NS? What do you use? from February/March of 2000! (I'm quite proud that I was already talking about using Mozilla at that time )

Another historical thread: Microsoft, the evil empire, from June 2001

Oh, and here's one from when I first started using opera (November, 2001!). Awwwww! Better thank Parker for recommending it next time I see him around.

My browers.

Netscape to IE to Mozilla to Avant to ........ Green now..

however answer to ur questions...is mozilla that I support

thanks